Record-card controlled printing mechanism



July 1, 1941. vA, A, DARK 2,24*!{907 RECORD-CARD CONTROLLED PRINTING MECHANISM Fil'ed June 7, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet l wie@ www, m?)

July 1, 1941. A. A. DARK RECORD-CARD CONTROLLED PRINTING MECHANISM Filed June 7, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 July l, 1941. A, A, DARK 2,247,907

RECORD-CARD covNTRoLLED PRINTING MECHANISM Filed June '7, 193s 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented July 1, 1941 Alfred Augustus Dark, Letchworth, England, assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y.,

New York a corporation of Application June 7, i938, serial No. 212,248 In Great Britain June 16, 1937 13 Claims.

f This invention relates to record-card controlled printing mechanism. Perforated record cards are divided into columns each usually containing ytwelve holevpositionsf'so that twelve characters can be represented in a column each by a single hole in a different position. The lower ten positions in the column are usually allocated to the digits to 9, while the two upper positions are used for recording and 11 when recording pence. In order to record more characters, for example, the letters ofthe alphabet, combinations of holes are employed. Thus an additional twenty characters can bel recorded by using a hole in one of the lower positions together with the hole in one or other of the upper two positions... By this code it is possible to record any one of thirty-two characters in a column. There are thirty-six characters in the digits 0 to 9 and the letters of the alphabet combined, and, in order that these may all be recorded in one column, it is the practice to use the holes that represent 0, 1, 6 and 8 also to represent the letters O, l., G and S. When printing under the control of a card punched in this code specially formed type is used to print the digits 1, 6 and 8, so that these characters will be read as the letters I, G and S when they form part of a word. 'I'hiscode involves using the two upper positions to represent two letters of the alphabet each by a single hole.

It will be appreciated that any one of twelve characters can be recorded in the column using a single hole only for each character, or any one of a greater number of characters can be recorded if combinations of holes areA employed. It is frequently desirable, however, to record on a card any one of one group of characters in one column and any one of another group of characters in another column. Thus, a card may have words recorded on it in the code referred to above and may also have, in another part of the card, amounts in sterling recorded. In recording such amounts the two upper positions are employed to represent 10 and 11 by single holes in the columns in which the pence digits are recorded. Thus, these hole positions represent 10 and 11 in certain columns of the card and letters of the alphabet in other columns of the card.

Another example of this is when the hole positions in a column are employed to record different kinds of transactions, such as credit or debit transactions, or dierent classes of goods, and in such cases it may be desirable 4to print special -symbols under the control of the holes in these columns.

This use of a hole or group of holes to represent different characters does not lead to confusion when printing from the card by means of printing mechanism of the kind comprising a plurality of type carriers 'each arranged to be controlled by a different column of the card since each type carrier can be provided with type appropriate to the characters that will be represented in the column controlling it. Dilculty, however, arises when the card is used to control printing mechanism of the kind having only a single set of type which is employed to print the character represented in each column in turn, and it is the object of this invention to overcome this difliculty.

The present invention is, therefore, concerned with the record-card controlled printing mechanism of the kind comprising printing mechanism for printing a. single character at a time, a

hole-reading device arranged to read a single column on a cardand to cause the printing mechanism to print the character represented by the hole or holes in the column read and cardfeeding means for feeding the card step by step so that each column is read in turn. Such printing mechanism will be referred tahereinaiter as printing mechanism oi the type specified.

According to a feature of the present invention the printing mechanism is arranged to print any one of several characters in response to a.

particular hole or a particular hole configuration in a column and there is provided a selecting means which is operable in step with the movement of the card to render the printing mechanism operable to print one character while predetermined columns are being read and operable to print another characterv while other predetermined columns are being read.

It will be appreciated that the hole or hole combination in question will represent one character when it occurs in one column and another.

character when it occurs in the other column and the printing mechanism will print the propere... character dependent upon the column in which the hole-or hole combination occurs.

Preferably the printing mechanism is normally operative to print a predetermined one of the characters and the selecting means comprises a memberwhich moves with the card and which is. adjustable relatively to the card in the direction of its movement and means operated by the member when it reaches a predetermined' position to adjust the printing mechanism to be operable to print the other character. `The said means may -be -arranged to remain operative once it has been operated by the member so that the l printing mechanism will print one character in response to the particular hole or hole combination if the latter occurs in one half of the card and the other character if the hole or hole combination occurs in the other halfK of the card.

According to another feature of the present invention the printing mechanism com-prises a plurality of type levers each arranged to print a single character, and a plurality of electro-magranged to make a connection in both said circuits when it reads a particular hole or hole combination so that one or other of the circuits will be completed, dependent upon the condition of the relay.

According to a further feature of the invention, the printing mechanism is arranged to print on the card which is being read by the card-reading device so that the character recorded in each column by holes in that column is printed in that column.

Two machines in accordance with the pres-- ent invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial circuit diagram for the first machine.

Figure 2 is a partial circuit diagram for the second machine.

Figure 3 is la side elevation of a card-reading device in the second machine.

Figure 4 is a plan o f the card-reading device.

Figures 5 and 6 show modifications that may be made to the circuits shown in Figures 1 and 2, and

Figure '1 is a vertical section through the rst machine.

The first machine The invention will first be described as applied to the typewriter punch shown in United States Patent INo. 2,046,082, issued to A. W. Mills, which contains a full description of the machine. The present description will be confined to the modiiications necessary to incorporate the present invention in the machine since these modications do not involve any substantial alteration to the machine described in the above United States patent. Before describing the present improvements, a general explanation as to the operation of the machine will be given to aid in an understanding of the modications made to it.

The machine comprises a type-writing and punching mechanism which is shown in Figure 7. As this mechanism is identical with that described in the Mills patent referred to above it need only be described briey herein. The mechanism comprises a plurality of -keys 255 each of which can be operated manually or by means of a related key-selecting solenoid KSS. When energized each solenoid KSS rocks a lever 503 to pull the related key 235 downwards by means of a link 555. Each key is returned by means of a spring 255 and rocks about a pivot 26|. When a key is depressed its tail 21| moves away from a lug 212a on an operating hook 212 so that this hook can' be rocked by means of a spring 215 clockwise about a pivotv 258. The nose 212e of the hook is then to a predetermined extent, the next flute on the actuator 15 engages a lug 212b on the hook and depresses the hood to disengage it from the actuator. Provision is made, as described in the Mills patent aforesaid, for preventing the hook re-engaging the actuator if the key is not promptly released.

Each hook 212 is pivoted at 255 on the end of a separate slide 251 and to a separate belicrank lever 255. Thus, as the hook moves to the left it rocks the bell-crank lever 255 cloc'kwise about its pivot 255 and also moves the slide 251 to the left. 'Ihe bell-crank lever 255 rocks a lever 259 about a pivot 25| against the tension of the spring 252. The lever 255 has a pin 255 engaging in a slot in a type-lever 254 which is pivoted at 255. The type-lever is thus rocked to a position where a type 255 on it strikes a suitable inking ribbon against the top margin of a card which is supported in front of a platen roller |25. It will be appreciated that there is a separate type-lever for each key and each type-lever carries an appropriate character. In this manner printing is effected along the top edge of the card.

Each slide 251 is provided with one or two t lugs 251e so that, when it is moved to the left,

moved into the path of a constantly rotating it rocks one or two balls 295. Each slide rocks a different bail or pair of balls. When rocked, each bail moves a slide 292, similar to the slide 251, to the left. This slide 252 is connected to a bell-crank lever 29| which is pivoted at 2H. Thus, when each bail 295 rocks, it rocks a related one of the bell-crank levers 29|. Each bell-crank lever 29| is connected by a link 295 to one arm 259 of a bell-crank lever which is pivoted at 251. The other arm 255 of each bell-crank lever is connected to a separate punch 255 so that the rocking of a bell-crank lever 29| will cause a related punch 255 to perforate the card.

In this manner the depression of a key 230 either manually or by means of the related key solenoid KSS causes av particular character to` be printed at the top of a column on the card and also causes a hole or two holes, representing that character, to be punched in the same column.-

The card on which printing and punching is to be effected is supported by guide rails |20 and |2| and is fed by means of two fingers |15 which engage thev leading and trailing edges of the card. These fingers are carried by a frame or card carriage |15 which is slidably mounted on a rail |35. After each punching and printing operation the carriage |15 moves one step under control of escapement mechanism which is fully described in the Mills patent aforesaid. Thus, printing and punching of the card is eifected column by column. i

The machine is provided with a card-reading table 525 on which a perforated master card can be placed. 'Ihis master card is fed in step with the blank card on which printing and punching is to be eil'eeted by means of two arms supported by the card carriage. One of these arms is shown at 555. The card is fed to bring each column in turn above a row of brushes MB and beneath a contact roller CR. 'lhe brushes MB correspond to the brushes BO to B|2 of the Mills patent aforesaid. Each column of the master card can thus be read by the brushes in turn and can control the solenoids KSS to print and punch on the blank card the information recorded by the holes oi.' the master card.

f ala-B, TSC, EC, PBC2,

' and RI2-D and a lwire W2.

ment movement the When a hole in the master card comes beneath one of the brushes MB, that brush will engage the contact roller CR to complete a circuit extending from a wire WI (Figure 1) through contacts RHS-A, R30-B, BSC, RIS-B, TSC, EC, PBC2, RII-B, and KIC, a" common brush'CBI, the contact roller CR, the brush MB which has found a hole and the connected relay coil of twelve relaycoilsfR to R9, RII and RI2. If the circuit extends through one of the coils R to R9 inclusive, it will extend through relay coils RI3 and R2I also. If the circuit passes through the relay coil RII or the relay coil RI2 it will include the relay coil R2I only.

' Assume first that the column under the brushes MB contains a 9 hole only. 'I'he circuit just traced would then include the relay coils R9, RI3 and R2I. The coil R9 closes its contacts R9-A which are in parallel with the contacts KIC and CR to maintain itself and the coils R13 and R2I energised. The coil R9 complete a circuit extending from the wire WI through the contacts RIS-A, R-B, BSC,

the key solenoid KSS related to the type-bar for printing 9, a wire W20, contacts RII-D The contacts RI I-D and RI2- D are closed since the related coils RII and RI2 are not energised. In this manner one key solenoid KSS is energised and causes its type-lever 234 to be actuated to print 9 at the top of the column of a blank card and also causes the selection of a punch for perforating a "9 hole in this column. No circuit can be completed throughv the contacts R9C and R9D to the key solenoids KSS for M and Y and the wires W2I and W22 because the wires W21 and W22 are disconnected from the wire W2 by the open contacts RI I-C and RI2-Cof the relays RII and RI2.

Next assume that a particular column under the brushes MB contains both a "9 hole and an In these circumstances the relay coil RII will be energised as well as the relay coil R9. The relay coil R gised. The relay coil RII will open its contacts RI I-D to disconnect the line W20 from the line W2 and will close its contacts RI I-C to connect the line W2! to `the line W2. 'I'he closure of the contacts R9-B will not complete a circuit through the key solenoid KSS for 9 because the line W20 is not connected to the line W2. The closure of the contacts R9-C will, however, complete a circuit through the key solenoid for M, the line W2I, the contacts RI I-'C and the contacts RI2-D. The key solenoid for M will thus be energised and will cause its type-lever 234 to be actuated to print M and select the..

punches for punching a 9 and an "11 hole in the appropriate column of the blank card.

In a similar manner when a 9 and a "12 -hole is present, the relay coil RI2 will be energised and will open its contacts RI2-D to prevent the key solenoids KSS for 9 and M being energised. The coil RI2 will also close its contacts RI2-C so that a circuit can be completed through the contacts R9D, the key solenoid KSS for Y, the line W22 and the contacts RI2-C. As soon as the type-lever and the punches have operated to print and punch a column of the blank card, both -the blank card and the master card escape one step under the control of escapement mechanism. During this escape- I3 will also be ener' contacts EC are opened and de-energise the energised relay coil in the group R0 to R0, RII and RI2 and also the coil RIS and R2I and the energised key solenoid KSB. 'I'his restores the circuits to normal in readiness for reading the next column in the master card and for printing and punching in the next columnv of the blank card. It may be mentioned that the contacts RIS-A, RIB-B and RII-B are controlled by the relaysRI5, RIB and RII, described in the Mills patent. These relays are controlled by the circuits shown in this patent and these circuits have been omitted from the present patent. The contacts BSC, TSC, EC, PBC2 and KIC are arranged and operate in the same way as the correspondingly designated contacts in the prior patent. The contacts R30-B are closed in a manner which will be described later and form part of the present improvements.

The manner in which the machine operates when a hole is present in one of the hole positions "0 to 9 alone or in combination with an "11" hole or a "12 hole is similar to that described above and need not be further described herein. It may be mentioned that allthe key solenoids are not shown in Figure 1 but the arrangement of the circuits for the remaining key solenoids is analogous to those shown; The manner in which the machine operates when an 11 hole or a '12 hole is present alone will be described later.

The machine is provided with tabulating mechanism which is fully described in the Mills patent referred to above. 'I'his mechanism comprises a stop-bar 300 (Figure 7) which moves with the cards and which is'providedwith slots. Stops 302 may be mounted on this bar in various positions and move with the bar which travels underneath a group of levers 381. Each stop 302 is provided with a projection 302b which is adapted to engage and rock one of the levers 281 when a particular column of the master card is under the brushes and the corresponding column on the blank card is in position for printing. The particular column depends on the position of the stop on the stop-bar. Each lever closes and/or opens contacts which control various operations of the machine, such as commencement of duplication from a master card, the termination of duplication from a master card and the ejection oi a blank card. There are live such stops which are referred to in the Mills patent as stop No. 1

to stop No. 5. The stops diier from one another in respect to the position of their projections 30217. Owing to this difference each stop will operate a different` lever 301 and is appropriate to a di'erent operation.

When a master card is on the card-readin'g table it closes card-lever contacts CLC. The master card is held in position on the table by a door which must be closed and, when closed, closes contacts DC. When both these pairs of contacts are closed a circuit is completed to energise a magnet BM. This circuit extends from the wire WI to the contacts RIB-A, R30-B. BSC and RIB-B, the magnet BM and the contacts DC and CLC. The magnet BM, when thus energised, serves to move the brushes M'B into contact with the card. When the magnet BM is de-energised the brushes MB are moved by spring means away from the card so as not to interfere with a movement of the master card backwards. The magnet BM is de-energised when thecards are back-spaced, the contacts BSC being opened during back-spacing operations for this purpose. It is also de-energised and during this operation the blank card, on.

which printing and punching has now been effected, is ejected, the master card is returned to its initial position in readiness for the printing and punching operations on the next card and a new blank card is fed from a magazine to the card carriage which serves to move the card step by step through the printing position. The cardejecting mechanism is identical Vwith that described in the Mills patent aforesaid and need not be described herein.

If a column on the card is blank, both cards will automatically escape a column in the following manner. It has been mentioned that the contacts EC open when the card escapes. When they reclose a circuit is completed through the contacts RIS-A, R30-B, BSC, RIB-B, TSC, EC, PBC2, Rit-B and KIC, contacts CS2, a relay coil R20 and a wire Wil. The relay R20 closes its contacts R20-A to complete a parallel circuit extending from the contacts Ril-B through a switch SS, relay contacts B2i-A, the contacts R20-A and escapement magnet EM and contacts LCG2. 'I'he escapement magnet EM operates kthe escapement mechanism so that both cards will escape one column. The escapement magnet EM operates in the same way as the magnet EM shown in the Mills patent aforesaid. The circuit to the relay coil R20 is completed whether or not there is a hole in a column. If, however, there is a hole in a column the relay coil R2| will be energised as described previously. The relay coil R2i will open its contacts R2I-A in the circuit through the escapement magnet EM. The relay coil R20 is arranged to be substantially slower in operation than the relay coil R2I so that, if both these coils are energised at the same time, the contacts R2i-A will be opened before the contacts R20- A close. Thus, the circuit through the magnet EM will not be completed if there is a hole in the card and the relay coil R2! is energised and opens its contacts R2I-A. This circuit will, however, be completed if there is no hole in the card.

The above briefly describes the operation of the prior machine and reference should be made to the Mills patent aforesaid for a more detailed description of the machine.

It should be mentioned that the present machine is arranged to record the digits and the letters of the alphabet by a diierent hole code to that described in the prior Mills patent. This code is shown in the following table.

In the above table the irst column shows the hole positions, the second column shows the characters represented by single holes, the third column shows the characters represented by a hole in one oi' the 0 to 9 positions in combination with a hole in the 11 position and the fourth column shows the characters represented by a hole in one o! the 0 to 9 positions in combination with a hole in the 12 position. It should be mentioned that l and I are printed by the same type lever which has a type for printing a character that can be read either as l or I. The same applies to 6 and G and to 8 and 8. The hole in the l1 position, when it 'occurs, alone, represents either A or 10, while a single hole in the l2 position represents either Z or 1l. These four characters are printed by four separate type-levers and A or Z" will be printed if an "11 or 12 hole occurs in certain columns, while 10 or 11 will be printed if the 11 or l2 hole occurs in other columns.

It may be mentioned that the circuits through the key solenoids KSS are shown in Figure 1 ar ranged in accordance with the above code and are not therefore exactly the same as those described in the Mills patent aforesaid.

It is the practice to record all the information involving the use of letters on the left-hand part of the card, for example in the rst twenty-two columns. while information involving numerals only is recorded in the remaining columns on the right. Thus, 10 or 11 will only be recorded in one of the columns to the right of column 22 and will not be recorded in columns 1 to 22 inclusive. The proper recording of A, Z, l0 and 1l is eil'ected by the following selecting means.

The machine is provided with a card lever (not shown) which is engaged by each card fed from the magazine vand rocked to close contacts CLC2 as the blank card passes from the magazine to the card-carriage by which it is moved step by step through the printing position. As soon as the card has been received by the carriage, it releases the card lever and the contacts CLC2 vre-open. 'I'his card lever is mounted adjacent the feed roller |43 shown in Figure 6 of the Mills patent aforesaid with its end that is engaged by the card located to the right, as seen in that figure, of the shaft on which that feed roller is mounted and just above the feed roller.

The closure of the contacts CLC2 completes a circuit through a relay coil R30 which closes its contacts R30-A to provide a holding circuit for itself through cam contacts CSS These contacts are operated by a cam which rotates with the cams for operating the contacts CSI to CS4 shown in the Mills patent aforesaid These cams rotate during the ejecting operation only. The contacts CSS are normally closed and are timed to open at'70 and close at 225 in the movement of the cam. The card lever contacts CLC2 are timed to close when these cams have turned through and to re-open when the cams have turned through 255. Thus, the contacts CSS will have re-closed while the contacts CLC2 are closed to maintain the relay coil R30 energised. When the card which caused the contacts CLC2 to close is ejected in the next ejecting operation, the contacts CSS open to cle-energlse the coil They then re-close so that the holding circuit for the coil R30 may be re-established if another blank card has been fed and has closed the contacts CLC2.

The coil R30 will thus be energised each time a card is fed from the magazine to the cardcarriage and will remain energised until that card is ejected from the card-carriage. It will then be de-energised and shortly afterwards will ence of an "11 hole al in the contacts RI l-B closing and the contacts be re-energized if another blank card is fed from the magazine.. 'I'he coil R33 closes the contacts R30f-.B previously referred to.

A special stop 302 l(Figure 7) is mounted on the stop-bar 300 in the column 23 position so that, when column' 23 of the master card is under the brushes MB, this stop will engage and rock a special'lever 381 to close print-selecting contacts PSCI (Figure-\1). The specialv lever is similar to vthe. levers 381 shown inthe Mills patent aforesaid1and is mounted beside those levers. ,The special stop which will be referred to as the No.' 7 stop is similar to the stops 302 sh'own in the Mills patent aforesaid except that its lug is placedr to engage the special lever 331 in the same fashion as described in the Mills patent aforesaid with reference to the lugs 33211 shown therein. A

Thus, when the column 23 arrives under the brushes MB, the No. 'l stop will close the contacts PSCI to complete a circuit through ythem',TV1

a relay coil R3I and the contacts R33B`fand RIS-A. The coil R31 will close its contacts R3I-A lto complete a `holding circuit through contacts PSC! and a switch APS. The coil R3l will thus remain 4energised until the coil R33 is de-energised in the next ejecting operation and opens' its contacts R30-B.

The coil `152.3! has a pair of normally closed contacts RSI-B in circuit with the key solenoid KSSf'for 'A andr a pair of normally closed contacts R3I-D in circuit with the key solenoid for Z.` While the first twenty-two columns on the card are being read, the relay coil R3] will be defenergised and its contacts R3 I-B and R3I-D will be closed. If an l1 hole occurs alone inv one of'these twenty-two columns, the coil RII will be energised and the contacts RI I-B will be closed. The circuit can then be completed through the contacts RIS- A, R-B, BSC, RIB-B, TSC, EC, PBC2 and RII-B, contacts RI3-,A, the contacts RI i-B, the contacts R3 l`-B, the key solenoid KSS for A and the contacts RII-C Aand R12-D. This solenoid will actuate its type-lever to print A and will also cause the selection of a punch to punch an 11 hole. If a single hole occurs in the 12 position of one of the rst twenty-two columns, the relay coil Rl! is energised and then closes its contacts RI 2-B. A similar circuit is then completed which includes contacts R|3-A, Ril- B and R3I-D, the key solenoid KSS for Z -and the contacts R12-C The solenoid actuates its type lever to print Z and causes the punching of a hole in the 12 position.

It should be pointed out that the above two circuits through the key solenoids for A and Z 5 the contacts RI l-C (and Rl2-D. The key solenoid for 10 will actuate its type-lever to print 10 and select a punch to perforate the"l1 posi' tion on the blank card. In the same way, the presence of a being completed through the contacts RI3`A, RI 2-B and R3 I-E, thev key solenoid KSS for 11 and the contacts Rl2-C. This key solenoid will actuate its type-lever to print 11 and will select a punch to perforate the 11 position in the column of the blank card.

It will be noticed that the 11 cr .12" hole appearing on the master card will be duplicated on the blank card but that A or Z will be printed when the relay R3I is de-energized and 10 or 11 will be printed when that relay is energized. Thus A and 10 arevalternative characters and Z or 1l are alternative characters. y Thisisjmerelyiamatter'of placing the appropriate typey on the'v appropriate type-lever so that any pairs of alternative characters vcan be printed. Any number of alternative characters can be provided for, it being only necessary to provide the selecting relay with the proper number of closed and open contacts connected to the proper solenoids. For example,`the contacts Ril-D could be disconnected from the key solenoid KSS for N and connected to the centre plate of a set oftriple contacts similar to the contacts R3I-C and R-3IB. The normally closed contact of this set could be connected'to the key solenoid for N while the normally open contact of this set could be connected to a solenoid which causes the printing of a special symbol such as the symbol "Cr which indicates that the amount is a credit amount. With this arrangement the occurrence of a 0 and 12 hole in the ilrst twenty-two columns of the card would result in the key solenoid for N being energised while the occurrence of the same-pair of holes in the remainder of the card would result in the key solenoid for the special symbol being energised and that symbol printed. In each case 0 and 12. holes would be punched in the appropriate column of the blank card.

y taining alphabet infomation. In such cases themachine should only print 10 and 11 in the columns which Vare allocated to receive pence amounts. To provide for this a No. I stop may be placed on the stop-bar in the positions oorcannot be completed if the "11 or "12 holes are accompanied by a second hole in one of the positions 0 to 9.V This is because the presence of a hole in the positions "0 to "9 completes a circuit throughthe related coils R0 to R9 and the relay coil R13. This coll opens vits contacts RIS-A to interrupt the previously traced circuits .to the solenoids for A and Z.

When the 23rd column is under the brushes MB, the relay R3! is energised as explained above and opens its contacts R3I-B and R3I-D, closing its contacts R3IC nd R3|-E. The presne will, as before, result and R3i-C, the key solenoid KSS for 10 andl responding to such columns and the switch APS may be opened. The effect of this is that the relay R31 cannot establish a holding circuittor itselfthrough the contacts R3I-A so that it will closed. These contacts will be closed by the No. I stop while the columns in which pence are recorded are under the brushes MB. Thus, 10 and 1i will only be recorded inthe corresponding columns of the blank cards and A and Z will be printed where an 11 or "12 hole occurs in any other column of the master card.

If it is desired to record numerical information, in, say, columns 20 to 30 and alphabetical information'to the left and right of columns 20 and 30, a No. 7 stop may beplaced in the column 20 position and a No. 8 stop in the column 31 position. A No. 8 stop will be similar to the other stops 332 except that its projection 3|l2b 12 hole alone in a column will result in the contacts RIZ- B closing and a circuit is so disposed that it will rock a second special lever to open contacts PSC2. These contacts are.

The second machine 'I'he manner in which the invention can be applied to a card interpreter will now be described. A card interpreter is a machine for printing on a card the information recorded by the holes in the card. The present machine is structurally the same as the machine described in United States Patent No. 2,046,082, issued to A. W. Mills, aforesaid except that the punching mechanism is removed and is replaced by a lower card-reading device. This device is shown in Figures 3 and 4. Printing is eifected on the platen roller |20. The card-reading device comprises twelve brushes LB which are held each by means of a separate stud |000 on a bar of insulating material. 'I'his bar is pivoted in ears |002 on a fixed bracket |003 and extends vertically behind the card on which printing is to be effected. Each stud is engaged by a separate springblade |000 which serves electrically to connect the brush to a terminal |005. 'I'he terminals and the blades are carried by a ilxed bar |000 of insulating material. 'I'he blades also serve to rock the insulating bar |00| in its bearings about a vertical axis so that the brushes will bear against the back surface of the card. The brushes will engage the column of the card which is at the printing position and, if a hole is present in this column, the corresponding brush will extend through the hole and make contact with a vertical conducting strip |001 mounted in front of the card in a iixed insulating support |000.

The bar |00| is provided with a lug |000 which engages a notch |0|0 in a slide |0||. This slide is supported by pin-and-slot connections |0|2 on the bracket |000 so that -it can move vertically. The slide |0|| serves to limit the movement of the bar I 00| so that the pressure of the brushes on the card will not become excessive. The slide |0|| is connected at |0|3 to a link |0I0 which is pivoted on a bail |19. This bail is pivoted at |0I and is connected to a link |03, the lower end of which co-operates with a cam |00 on a shaft |00. The parts |19, |8|, |03 and |80 and |00 are the same as the corresponding parts shown in theMills patent previously referred to. As explained in that patent, the shaft |00 turns through a revolution during each electing operation and the cam |80 depresses lthe link |00 so as to-raise the bail |19 and rock the card-feeding fingers |15 about a rocked during the electing operation so as to move them behind the plane of the card in order that the card on which printing has just been eiected may be fed into the card receiving hopper and a new card fed into position between the lingers.

When the bail |10 is thus raised it raises the link |0|0 and the slide |0||. 'I'his moves the notch |0|0 above the lug |0|9 and cams this lug forwardly so that the bar |00| is rocked and the brushes LB are moved clear of the card. It will thus be seen that the brushes are moved clear of the card while the card is being ejected and a new card is being fed in.

Except as just explained, the present machine will be structurally identical with that described in the Mills patent referred to above.

The circuits of the second machine are shown in Figure 2 in so far as they differ from the circuits shown in the Mills patent referred to above. 'Ihe circuits shown in Figure 2 are the same as those shown in Figure 1 except for the inclusion of the brushes LB and a master card multirelay. The coil MCR of this relay is connected in series with the brush magnet BM. The relay has normally open contacts MCR-B which are connected one between each brush MB and the related coil R0 to R9, RII and RI2. 'I'he relay has also normally closed contacts MCR-A which are connected one between each lower brush LB and the related coil R0 to R9, RII and R|2.

If the coil MCR is de-energised, the brushes MB will be disconnected and the brushes LB will be connected in circuit each with the related coil R0 to R0, R|| and RIZ. Thus, these relay coils will be energised in accordance with the holes provided in the cards on which printing is to be effected. These cards are pre-punched and are placed in the magazine from which they are fed one by one. The machine operates to read each column on 'these cards and print at the head of that column the character recorded by the holes in it. 'I'he manner in which the relays R0 to R0, R|| and RIZ control the keypivot |11. These fingers are selecting solenoids KSS is exactly the same as described with reference to Figure 1 so that it need not be repeated. If it is desired to interpret the information on a card, no master card is placed upon the reading table so the contacts CLC will be open and the magnet BM and the relay coil MCR will not be energised. The relay coils R0 to R9, RII and R|2 will then be controlled by the brushes LB as just explained.

It may, however, be desired to print on all of the cards certain information which is common to all of them but which is not represented by holes on the cards. In such a case, this infomation will be recorded by holes in the master card which will be placed in the card-reading table. When this master card is inserted, the contacts DC and CLC are closed so that the magnet BM and the relay MCR are both energised. 'Ihe relay coil MCR then opens its contacts MCR-A and closes its contacts MCR-B connecting the brushes MB to the coils R0 to R9, R|| and RIZ and disconnecting the brush LB from those coils. The operation of the mechanism will then be exactly as described with reference to Figure 1 except that the information on the master card is printed but is not punched on the other card.

Modified circuits It will be appreciated that the machine may be modiiled to deal with cases in which a single hole or pair ofholes may represent more than two characters. Thus, it is the practice to use the "11" and 12 holes to indicate whether an amount recorded on the card is a credit or a debit. These holes are also used to record the eleventh and twelfth months of the year, the tenth month being recorded by a 0 hole. An 11 hole may thus represent either A, 10, 11 or credit, a l2 hole Z, 1l, 12 or debit, while a 0" hole may represent 0 or 10. It will be assumed that the alphabetical matter, including a date, will appear in the first twenty-two columns of the card a'nd numerical matter will appear in the remaining columns of the card. It will further be assumed that the month in the date will be recorded in column 15 and that an "11 hole in column 30 will indicate a credit. and a 12 hole in column 30 will indicate a debit. The

the contacts PSCI (Figure to energise the relay coil R3l. This coil closes its contactsfRI-A to maintain itself energised, as next eject operation. As before, the presence of an "11 or 12 hole in the columns 1 to 14 and 16 to 22 willfcause the completion of a circuit to energise' the y Th'e-` presence# oi'f the-fcolum'n *23 the completlo -o Y noidsfKSS'for l0 -r pre y* t l will be"as -lprevi'sly"described except that they will include normally closed relay contacts R32- A (Figure 6). The circuit establish when a "0 hole occurs in one of the above columns will in clude the contacts Ril-B, contacts R32-C, the solenoids KSS for 0 and the contacts RII-D and RI2D.

When the 15th column of the master card is under the brushes MB, the No. 9 stop will 'close contacts PSC3 (Figure 5) to energise a relay coil R32. This coil has no holding circuit so that it will be de-energised as soon as the No. 9 stop moves Vto the 16th column position. 'I'he coil R32 opens the contacts R32-A and R32-C (Figure 6) and closes contacts R32-B and R32-D. Thus, if there is a 0 hole present in column 30 the, contacts Ril- B will close, as explained before, to complete a circuit through the contacts R32- D and a key solenoid KSS which controls the printing of "10. In the same way the presence of an 11 hole in column 15 will result in solenoids KSS for A or Z- respectively. q f:

before, until the a circuit being completed through the contacts RII-LB, R3l--B and R32- D to energise a key solenoid which controls the printing of "11. A 12 hole in column 15 results in the solenoid KSS for 12 being energised through the contacts RI2-B, R3i-D and R32-B.

The relay R32 is again energised for the colunrn 30 position owing to the No. 9 stop closing the contacts PSC3. At this time the relay RII is energised so that an 11 hole causes a circuit to be completed through the contacts RI I-B, R3I-C and R32- B to energise a solenoid KSS which controls the printing of a symbol "Cf. A 12 hole in column 30 will result in a circuit through the relay contacts RI2-B, RSI-E and R32- B and a key solenoid KSS for the symbol Dr". The circuits shown are designed for cases when the only holes that will be punched in column 30 will be in the 11 or 12 positions and a 0 hole in. this column would resuit in .10 being printed. It may be desirable that the other hole-positions in this column 30 should have special signicance. and control the printing of special characters and it is merely necessary to provide the relays R3| and R32 with extra contacts controlling the appropriate solenoids KSS in the manner just described.

It will be noticed that the solenoids for I0 and Il are duplicated. This is purely for convenience in connecting them in circuit and the duplicated solenoids may have a common core and operate the same type-lever.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to machines controlled by cards in which letters of the alphabet are recorded by pairs of holes but can be applied also to machines controlled by cards in which only the the;naifdrstinbytsteprso@that.eachfcolumn is read inn-'burra jasmembencwhich moves with the card and which is adjustable relatively to the card in the direction of its movement and means operated by the member when it reaches a predetermined position to adjust the printing mechanism to print the other character.

2. A record card controlled printing mechanism comprising a hole-reading device arranged to read a single column on a card containing any of a plurality of hole congurations at least one of which conilgurations represents either of two alternative characters, printing mechanism arranged to print any of the characters repre-1 sented by the possible hole configurations in a`v column on the card. one character at a time. which printing mechanism is arranged normally to print a predetermined one of said alternative characters, card-feeding mechanism for feeding the card step by step so that each column is read in turn, a member which moves with the card and which is adjustable relatively to the card in the direction of its movement, means rendered operative by said member when the latter reaches a predetermined position. to cause the printing mechanism to print the other character, holding means arranged to maintain the lastI named means 'in operative `condition once it has been rendered operative by the member, and restoring means for rendering said holding means inoperative.

3. A record card controlled printing mechanism comprising a. hole-reading device arranged to read a single column on a card containing any of a plurality of hole configurations at least one of which configurations represents either of two alternative characters, printing mechanism arranged to print any of the characters represented by the possible hole configurations in a column on the card, one character at a time, which printing mechanism is arranged normally to print a predetermined one of said alternative characters, card-feeding mechanism for feeding the card step by step so that each column is read in turn, a member which moves with the card and which is adjustable relatively to the card in the direction of its movement, means operated by the member when tt 'reaches a predetermined position to adjust the printing mechanism to print the other character, which means is arranged to remain operative once it has been operated by the member,` restoring means operative to render said means inoperative and a second member which moves with the card, which is adjustable -relatively to the card in the direction of its restoring means when it reaches a predetermined position.

4. A record card controlled printing mechanism comprising a hole-reading device arranged to read the hole configuration in a single column on the card at a time, which configuration represents any of a plurality of characters arranged in two groups, printing mechanism for printing any of said characters when said hole configuration is read, a rst selecting means which is operative to cause the printing mechanism to print a character from one group of the characters or from the other group of characters alternatively and a second selecting means which is operative to cause the printing mechanism to print one or another character within a selected group of characters, means for feeding the card column by column so that each column is read in turn and means including a member movable in step with th'e card to render either or both selecting means operative when a predetermined column oi' #the card is in register with the hole-reading device.

5. A record card controlled printing mechanism comprising a plurality of type-levers each arranged to print a single character, a plurality of electromagnets each arranged to control the operation of a diierent type-lever, a card-reading device, an energizing circuit for each electromagnet which circuits are controlled by the card-reading device and completed selectively in accordance with the hole configuration in a column read by that device, card-feeding means for feeding the card column by column so that each column is read in turn, an electromagnetic selecting relay arranged normally to hold open the energizing circuit of one of said electromagnets and to maintain a connection in the energizing circuit of another of said electromagnets but arranged, when energized, to close the circuit of the rst electromagnet and to open Vthe circuit oi' the second electromagnet, the card-reading device being arranged to make a connection to both said circuits when it reads a particular hole conguration; and means for energizing said relay when a predetermined column o1' the card is in register with the card-reading device, said means including a switching device for controlling said relay and a member movable in step with the reading of the card by the card-reading device for actuating said switching device.

6. A record card controlled printing mechanism comprising a card-reading device for reading any of a plurality of hole configurations in a card, each of which coniigurations corresponds to a dierent character and at least one of which coniigurations corresponds to at least two alternative characters, means for feeding the card so that each column is read in turn, printing mechanism arranged to print any of the characters represented by said hole configurations one at a time at the top of the column on the card in which the related hole conguration appears and selecting means which is operable in step with the movement of the card to render the printing mechanism operable to print one of said alternative characters while one predetermined column is being read and to print the other of said alternative characters while another predetermined column is being read.

7. A,record controlled machine comprising a record sensing device for sensing data designations disposed in the columns of a record iield, said sensing device being arranged to sense a single column at a time, said columns containing designations representing lcharacters to be printed, certain designations representing a plurality of characters, other designations representing single characters whereby predetermined designations have a plurality of meanings and the remaining designations only one meaning for each; printing mechanism comprising a plurality of type elements, each type element representing a single character and operable independently of the others to print a single character upon a record medium; means to eiiect a relative movement between the sensing device and a record containing said designations whereby to sense the columns one at a time; selecting lmeans for controlling the operation of the printing mechanism to select the character to be printed; selection control means for coupling the selecting means to the sensing device, said selection control means coupling the selecting means for those type elements which correspond to designations having a plurality of meanings to the part of the record sensing device which senses the corresponding designations, said selection control means normally causing the selecting means to operate in accordance with only one of the meanings of the predetermined designations and being operable to cause the selecting means to operate in accordance with other meanings of said predetermined designations; and means, including a member movable in step with the sensing of the columns of the record by the sensing device and a device relative to which said member moves, for operating the selection control means only when predetermined columns are sensed as determined by the position of said member.

8. In a machine of the class described, a series of sensing elements each for sensing an index point position of a record column in which one or more designations may occur representing characters, certain of the characters being represented by combinations of designations and others of the characters being represented by a single designation, certain of said designations or combinations of designations each representing a plurality oi diii'erent characters; means to cause a relative feeding movement between the sensing elements and the record to cause the columns o1' said record to be successively sensed, printing mechanism for printing one character at a time and adapted to print any of the characters represented by said designations, a series of control elements each corresponding to a character and when operated controlling the printing mechanism to cause the corresponding character to be printed, selective control means controlled by the sensing elements for selectively controlling the operation of the control elements, means to connect the selective control means to certain of the control elements, said connecting means being selectively operable to couple different control elements to the selective control means, and means, including a member traveling in synchronism with the sensing of the record columns and a relatively xed element engaged by said member, for operating the connecting means to change the eifect of the designations in certain columns on the control elements.

9. In a machine of the class described, a record sensing device arranged to sense a single column at a time of a record eld containing designations representing characters, certain of said designations representing a single character while others of said designations each represent a plurality of characters; means to cause a relative `movement between the sensing device and the record to sense said columns successively; recording mechanism including a series of control circuits, each circuit being associated with a particular character; means controlled by the sensing device for closing said circuits selectively according to the positions of designations in the record columns, a switching device for placing those of said circuits corresponding to a plurality of characters all of which are represented by the same designation under control of the circuit closing means controlled by the part of the sensing device which senses the common designation, and means including a member movable in step with the sensing of the record columns and an element engaged by said member, for controlling the switching device whereby different characters are caused to be printed on the occurrence of the same designation in diierent columns.

10. A record controlled machine comprising printing mechanism, a record sensing device arranged to read a relatively small area such as a column of a record which area may contain designations representing characters to be printed by the printing mechanism, at least one of which designations represents either of two alternative characters, said printing mechanism being arranged to print the characters designated in the record areas one at a time and to normally print the i'lrst of the alternative characters corresponding to designations which represent alternative characters; means to eiect a relative movement between the sensing device and the record to -cause the areas containing the designations to be sensed one area at a time; a member which is moved synchronously with the sensing of the record areas by the sensing device; and means, including a relatively iixed member cooperating with the first named member, to adjust the printing mechanism to print the second of the alternative characters when the record sensing device cooperates with predetermined areas on the record 11. A record controlled machineY comprising printing mechanism, a record sensing device arranged to read a relatively small area, such as column, on a record which area contains data designations' representing characters to be printed by the printing mechanism, at least one of which designations represents either of two alternative characters; said printing mechanism being arranged to print the characters designated in the record areas one at a time and to normally print the iirst of the alternative characters corresponding to designations which represent alternative characters; means to effect a relative movement between the sensing device and the record to cause the areas containing the designations to be sensed one area at a time; a member which isA moved lsynchronously with the sensing of the record areas by the sensing device; and means, including a relatively iixed member cooperating with the first named member, to adjust the printing mechanism to print the second alternative character when the record sensing device cooperates with predetermined areas on the record, one of said members being adjustable to predetermine the areas with respect to which the second alternative character is to be printed.

12. A record controlled printing machine ccmprising a record sensing device arranged to read a predetermined portion such as a single column of a record, each portion containing any of a plurality ofdesignations, at least one of which designations represents either of two alternative characters; printing mechanism arranged to print any of the characters represented by the possible designations in a portion of the record one character at a time, said printing mechanism being normally arranged to print a predetermined one of the alternative characters; record feeding mechanism for feeding the record past the sensing device to cause the record portions to be sensed one portion at a time; a member movable in synchronism with the feeding of the record; and means, including a member which is relatively xed and cooperating with the iirst named member, when it reaches a predetermined position, to adjust the printing mechanism to print the other of the alternative characters, one of said members being adjustable to predetermine feeding of the record at which the other alternative character is printed.

13. A record controlled printing machine comprising a device for sensing any of a plurality of character representations on a record, said character representations being disposed in predetermined areas arranged in a row on the record, certain of which areas may contain representations of at least two alternative characters; means for feeding the record past the record sensing device to sense the areas one at a time; printing mechanism arranged to print any of the characters corresponding to the character representations, said printing mechanism printing the characters one at a time as the character representations are sensed by the sensing device; and selecting means which is operable in step with the feeding of the record to render the printing mechanism operable to print one of the alternative characters while predetermined areas containing representations of a1- ternative characters are beingA sensed and to print the other of the alternative characters while any other areas containing said representations are being sensed.

I ALFRED AUGUSTUS DARK.

the points in the 

